Learn how to make Sous Vide Steak that's cooked perfectly from edge-to-edge with this easy to follow recipe.
🐮 Ingredients
- 1 steak, any cut ½ thick or larger. For the video, I used a porterhouse. However, I've made this with ribeye or filet mignon and it turns out great every time.
- coarse kosher salt, to taste. We want a course salt because we want it to stay on the surface during the cook. Fine salt will seep into the meat. Also, I don't give a measurement for your rub because steaks come in all different sizes. You simply want to season it evenly and generously on all surfaces. Exact amounts will vary.
- Coarse ground black pepper, to taste. Same thought, get coarse black pepper so that it stays on the surface.
- garlic powder, to taste. Enough to hit every surface of the steak with a nice dusting.
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary. Two will go in the bag with the steak and another will go in pan when it sears.
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme. This goes in the bag with the steak.
- 2 Tbsp butter. This will help get a nice crisp crust on the when we pan sear it on the stove.
- 2 garlic cloves, slightly smashed. We'll use these in the pan during the end of the sear to help add a little burst of flavor.
🌡 Temperature
That all depends on the doneness you're going for. We're firmly on team medium rare in my house, but the table below will help you find your desired doneness.
| Doneness | Temp °F/°C | Time |
| Rare | 124°F/51.1°C | 1 hour - 2.5 hours* |
| Medium Rare | 131°F/53.9°C | 1 hour - 2.5 hours |
| Medium | 139°F/59.4°C | 1 hour - 3 hours |
| Medium Well | 150°F/65.6°C | 1 hour - 3 hours |
| Well | 156°F/68.8°C | 1 hour - 3.5 hours |
*To prevent bacteria growth, steak cooked 130° or under should be cooked no longer than 2.5 hours.
🔪 Instructions
Note: The temperatures and cook times given below are for a medium-rare cook. For other doneness levels, consult the chart above.
Step 1
Fill your sous vide water container up about ⅔ of the way (or according to the instructions on your sous vide water circulator (affiliate)). Set your circulator for 131° and allow to come to temperature. Meanwhile, season steak generously on all surfaces with coarse kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper and garlic powder.
Step 2
Fold back the top of a sous vide bag. Insert steak in bag. Slap two sprigs each of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme on your palm twice to help release oils. Place one sprig of rosemary and thyme on each side of the steak. Unfold top of bag and place in a vacuum sealer (affiliate). Vacuum all air out and seal the bag so that it wraps tightly around the steak. Place bag in water bath. Cook for 2 hours.
Tip: drape the bag over the side of the container and close the lid. This keeps the bag from floating into the circulator.
Step 3
Remove steak from bag and set on a cooling rack. Pat dry with a paper towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Patting it dry is a big key to getting a nice, crisp crust on the sear in the next step, while resting helps to ensure it won't overcook during the sear.
Step 4
Bring a heat to medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp butter and allow to melt. Lay steak flat in the pan, laying the point closest to you down first and laying it away from you. Press it firmly against the pan to help get a sear. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip over and sear opposite side. Using tongs, hold steak on edge and cook the side surfaces for 30 seconds as well.
Once all sides have been seared once, add remaining butter, fresh rosemary and fresh garlic cloves to pan. Repeat process of searing all sides for 30 seconds. This time, brush the rosemary in the butter and over the steak as it cooks. Once each side has been hit for a second 30 seconds, remove to a cutting board. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.
To serve: Carve each side of the steak off the bone. Slice perpendicular to the bone, about 1 inch thick.
Note - The steak will probably look pretty gray when you first cut into it. This is not because the steak is overcooked, but rather because has been oxygen deprived while in the water bath. As it gets more air, it will gradually turn a beautiful pink from edge to edge. After I cut, I typically spread my pieces out for about 5 minutes to allow them to take on more oxygen before plating.
This steak goes great with chimichurri spooned overtop.
🎥 Video
🥩 What is Sous Vide Steak?
For quite awhile, Sous Vide cooking was a secret of the restaurant world. But over the past few years, this easy to master technique has made it way into everyday home kitchens.
Quite literally, "sous vide" in French translates to "under vacuum". And that's exactly what we're doing here. Steak is seasoned and wrapped in a vacuum-sealed bag. Then, it's cooked "under vacuum" in a water bath that's precisely temperature controlled for 1 ½ to 3 hours (see chart below) before it's seared in a pan.
The result is a steak that's brought up to the exact temperature of the doneness you are looking for, all with the crisp crust that really adds to the flavor. Edge-to-edge perfectly cooked with a ton of flavor, this is the steak you've been dreaming of!
👉🏻 Why cook sous vide?
Sous Vide steak is the perfect way to cook steak. Why?
- Traditional methods are inexact. Typically when you cook a steak over the grill or in a pan, you're attempting to get a piece of meat from room temp to exactly 131° (for medium-rare) by hitting it with a pan or flame that is often 350° or hotter. You need to pull it at the exact right time, all while obsessively checking to make sure it's cooked evenly.
- But Sous Vide is super precise. Instead of hitting with with a hot flame, we'll use a water circulator to keep our water bath at exactly the temperature we want to cook the steak to. The steak will slowly come up to exactly the temperature of the water, but not a degree over. The end result is a piece of meat that is cooked evenly to the exact doneness that you want.
- It's really easy. While total cooking time may be a bit over 2 hours, the actual time you're doing things is super short. Once you've seasoned the meat and sealed it in the bag, you can absolutely walk away until it's finished. In fact, I often drop it and and go run errands while the sous vide works it's magic.
- It's very forgiving. For a steak about 1 ½ inch thick or more, the suggested cooking time is anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours (depending on temperature, see table below). Because we're bringing it only to only a precise temperature we want, there's no danger of overcooking it. Run into traffic when you go to the store while it cooks? No worries, you have plenty of time.
Let's stay in touch. Follow me on Instagram and check out what we're up to on Pinterest. Support this site, follow the link and buy stuff on Amazon (affiliate).
❔ FAQs
Any steak that is 1 ½ inch thick or more will all work best with these steps. For this instance, the video and photos are of a porterhouse steak, which turned out great. But you can follow the exact same steps with any cut of steak, such as Ribeye, New York Strip or Filet Mignon.
If you have a larger piece of beef, such as a roast, I recommend checking out my instructions for 29-Hour Sous Vide Chuck Roast.
Yes, but I don't recommend it. I tend not to because what happens is the steak will release the water that it takes on when frozen. That water is released in the bag, and it end up poaching the steak, which is not at all what you want.
There are a few different options for searing your steak. This recipe uses a cast iron pan, which is what we typically use at home.
Of course, you can finish it on a hot propane grill, still rotating it every 30 seconds. I tend not to because it's tougher to hold them on edge above the grill, and you lose the garlic herb flavoring we get in the cast iron.
If you want to get super nerdy, some folks break out the blowtorch with a searing attachment to get a nice crisp crust. I suggest doing this outside (as to avoid the whole big open flame in the kitchen problem) and make sure you know how to properly and safely use this tool before doing it.
Absolutely. If the steaks fit side-by-side in a single layer, you can fit more than one steak in the bag. Just make sure to keep them in a flat, single layer.
If they don't fit in the same layer, simply separate them into multiple bags. You can cook as many at the same time as will fit in your circulator!
Set the water circulator first for a medium steak and add only that steak for 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to medium rare, then add the other steak. The first steak will still retain it's medium doneness, while the other will only come to medium rare
Tip: Label the bags in some way so that you easily know which steak has been cooked to what temperature. A good way is to write at the top of the bag, above the points that will be cooked in the water.
👨🏻🍳 Mike's Recipe Rundown
- Taste: The beefiness of the steak is the star here, with the flavor really shining through. The aromatics given from the fresh herbs and seasoned rub helps add notes to the cust to really round out the bite.
- Texture: Amazingly tender with a crisp crust. I don't believe in straight up saying "this is the most tender steak you've ever had", because I don't know everything you've ever had. But you'll definitely come away impressed with just how tender you steak comes out when it's made Sous Vide.
- Difficulty - Pretty Easy! There's very little active time involved with this recipe. If you can season a piece of meat, operate a vacuum sealer and sear it over high heat, you're in business!
- Pros: A simply amazing final product with very little effort. No more guessing at when you should pull it from the grill. No more cutting into it hoping you got the cook right. Cook it perfect, each and every time in just a few steps.
- Cons: The one thing this isn't is a quick cook. It's not a get home at 5:30pm and have dinner on the table by 6:30pm type thing. So, this takes just a little bit of planning ahead to make sure you have enough time to get this on the table when you want it.
- Would I make it again? Oh, yeah! Since I made my first Sous Vide Steak about four years ago, I've never gone back. This is the way to make steak, and the hands down favorite in my home.
🥙 Related Recipes
- 29-Hour Sous Vide Chuck Roast
- Greek Couscous with Sous Vide Lamb
- Sous Vide Chicken Thighs
- Sous Vide Pork Chops
- Sous Vide Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
- Sous Vide Duck Breast Ramen
- How to make Mashed Potatoes like a pro
Sous Vide Steak
- Total Time: 12 minute
- Yield: 1 steak 1x
Description
Steak cooked using an immersion water circulator to a precise temperature, giving you a super tender, perfectly cooked steak.
Ingredients
- 1 steak, any cut ½ thick or larger.
- coarse kosher salt, enough to season all sides
- coarse black pepper, enough to season all sides
- garlic powder, to taste
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, slightly smashed
- chimichurri, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Fill your sous vide water container up about ⅔ of the way. Set your sous vide water circulator (affiliate) for 131° and allow to come to temperature. Meanwhile, season steak generously on all surfaces with coarse kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper and garlic powder.
- Fold back the top of a sous vide bag. Insert steak in bag place. Slap two sprigs each of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme on your palm twice to help release oils. Place one sprig of rosemary and thyme on each side of the steak. Unfold top of bag and place in a vacuum sealer (affiliate). Vacuum all air out and seal the bag tightly. Place bag in water bath. Cook for 2 hours.
- Remove steak from bag and set on a cooling rack. Pat dry with a paper towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Patting it dry is a big key to getting a nice, crisp crust on the sear.
- Bring a heat to medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp butter and allow to melt. Lay steak flat in the pan, laying the point closest to you down first and laying it away from you. Press it firmly against the pan to help get a sear. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip over and sear opposite side. Using tongs, hold steak on edge and cook all of the side surfaces for 30 seconds each as well.
- Add remaining butter, fresh rosemary and fresh garlic cloves to pan and repeat process of searing all sides for 30 seconds. This time, brush the rosemary in the butter and over the steak as it cooks. Once each side has been hit for a second 30 seconds, remove to a pan. Let rest 10 minutes.
- To serve, carve each side of the steak off the bone. Slice perpendicular to the bone, about 1 inch thick. If desired, spoon chimichurri over top for extra flavor.
Notes
The temperature given above is for a medium-rare cook. For other levels of doneness, consult the chart on on this page.
- Cook Time: 2.5 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Sous Vide
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Sous Vide Steak, Perfect Steak Recipe, Medium Rare Steak